The defense of the ad is that the woman is choking and the intoxicated gentleman groping her is performing the Heimlich maneuver.

In a second apology, the company posted this statement to its Facebook page and via Twitter:

My name is Charles Gibb and I am the President of Belvedere Vodka. I would like to personally apologize for the offensive post that recently appeared on our Facebook page.

It should never have happened. I am currently investigating the matter to determine how this happened and to be sure it never does so again. The content is contrary to our values and we deeply regret this lapse.

As an expression of our regret over this matter we have made a donation to RAINN (America's largest anti-sexual violence organization. www.rainn.org